


Closer for Comfort

by TheCrowMaiden



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, i really like characters sleeping together in a literal sense for comfort ok, non graphic mentions of wounds and blood, there's blackwall/lavellan but it's just an established thing the focus is on the friendship mostly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8005009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrowMaiden/pseuds/TheCrowMaiden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inquisitor Lavellan and her team of Blackwall, Varric, and Dorian took down a Hinterval dragon but it was a near thing. After having to experience the very real fear that one or more of her friends might die, the Inquisitor wants to keep them as close as possible and so asks them all to sleep in her quarters with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closer for Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> In the spirit of trying to let as many as people as possible enjoy this, the Inquisitor is only referred to as "Lavellan" in the fic in case there are others out there who romanced Blackwall and love Varric and Dorian. (But if you're at all curious, my Inquisitor's name is Elena!)

There wasn’t enough space between the two levels of the tower to prevent the croaking of Leliana’s ravens from being heard in the library. It was always at odds with the warm candlelight, soft carpets and plush chairs scattered about; that cold echo of their calls and the reminder of what it signified. Inquisitor Lavellan often found herself flinching when she heard them. Everyone else seemed used to it though, the mages and researchers calmly selecting books with no thought but to acquire a comfortable seat to do their reading in.

Dorian was lounging in one such chair, his usual aplomb somewhat spoiled by the sling that kept his right arm supported across his chest and the bandage that held three of his left hand fingers together. Lavellan hovered at the edge of the nearest bookcase, watching him as he turned the pages of his book with a faint scowl. He seemed annoyed by either having to read one handed or being without the individual use of his pointer finger, and after a couple pages he heaved a dramatic groan and glanced over to her.

“Yes, dear?” He asked, closing the book and putting it on the table. “Off to kill something again already and wanting me along, are you?”

“No.” Lavellan shook her head. “I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Check up on me? Whatever for?”

“A Hinterval dragon landed on you, Dorian. A _dragon_.”

“Yes, but that didn’t stop us from killing it,” He said, lips curled into a confident, reassuring smirk.

Lavellan sighed, sitting down on the velvet footstool when he moved his feet from it for her. Dorian’s lips had nearly been blue from the cold and the shock by the time they’d gotten him to one of the guard towers for emergency attention from a healer after they took the dragon down. His arm had been dangling, useless, and only the sparks of fire magic he had managed to summon with his other hand had kept them all from freezing or succumbing to their wounds.

Dorian’s smirk faltered when Lavellan looked him over and lingered on his arm, and he leaned forward to break her gaze.

“I’m imaging you came here to do more than look at me sorrowfully, or at least I’m hoping. What is it, hm?”

“Well…” Lavellan ran her fingers over the velvet, making patterns in the soft material. “I keep thinking about what happened, and I can’t sleep. So I thought if I knew you were safe I could rest.”

“And?”

“So, I was thinking that maybe you could sleep in my quarters tonight?” Lavellan winced when her voice echoed slightly, and she glanced around the room. No one else in the library even lifted their head from their books though, for which she was grateful. It wasn’t exactly an innocent sounding comment to anyone with a mind for gossip after all.

Looking touched and pretending not to be, Dorian inspected the nails on his left hand.

“You can’t seriously be suggesting I give up sleeping in a bed to lounge about on a cold stone floor.”

“No.” Lavellan shook her head. “You can have the bed; I’m used to sleeping on the ground so I’ll be fine.”

“And is it just myself you’re inviting?” Dorian asked.

“Actually, I was going to ask Varric and Blackwall too.” Lavellan tried not to blush when Dorian began smirking again. “Just the four of us who fought the Hinterval, that’s all.”

“I must admit there’s a certain appeal to this scheme of yours.” Dorian stretched languidly, and stood. He pretended to ponder her offer for a minute, stroking his moustache in a way he never did if he wasn’t teasing, and sighed. “Oh, very well, when shall I meet you?”

“I’m just off to get the others, so you could head there now.”

She smiled and stood, giving Dorian a very cautious hug that he endured for all of a couple seconds before brushing her off with a scoff and a sly wink. She winked back at him and ran down the stairs, dodging Solas who had his hands full of some sort of book, and opened the door that let into the main hall. Varric was sitting by the fireplace right next to it as always, a quill in one hand as he scratched out the last line he’d written on his paper.

Bandages instead of chest hair were all that were visible through his open shirt, wrapped around his torso and winding over his shoulders. He had been far enough back that the dragon’s tail was all that had hit him as opposed to being landed on like Dorian, but he had still been bloody from the neck down and unable to even bend over to pick up Bianca from the pain of broken ribs.

“Hey, your Inquisitorialness,” Varric said to Lavellan when she leaned over to look at what he was working on “No trying to get a sneak peak to give to Cassandra, she’s already lucky she gets to read the book first. She doesn’t get more than that.”

“That’s not what I was trying to do.”

“Good thing, because this isn’t even _Swords and Shields._ ” Varric put his quill down, and scratched at his neck. “What were you trying to do?”

“Talk to you. I wanted to ask you something.”

“That never sounds good, telling someone you want to talk.” Varric laughed and put his papers into a leather bag after blotting the wet ink. “Alright, what is it this time?”

“I was hoping you’d sleep in my quarters tonight.” Lavellan grinned at him, keeping her voice quiet so it wouldn’t echo like it had in the library. “Dorian’s already got the bed so you’ll have to share floor space with Blackwall and me.”

Varric snorted loudly, and put a hand to his ribs with a wince.

“Try not to make me laugh; it hurts. Of course Sparkler gets the bed, he’d whine all night otherwise and as it is he’ll probably bring his own silk sheets. Tell me you’re at least getting extra blankets and cushions for the rest of us though, we do enough sleeping on stone when we’re outdoors.”

When Lavellan paused guiltily, Varric rolled his eyes at her and got to his feet with a groan. He tucked his bag under his arm and stuck the quill into the cord holding it together.

“That answers that. Okay, you go get Hero, I’ll get blankets.”

“Thanks, Varric.”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem,” he said with a smile “better hurry up before everyone starts talking though.”

People in the hall were already starting to alternately eye her and the door to her quarters she had left open, so Lavellan excused herself and walked toward the main doors. Most people in the great hall considered themselves important though, and so most of them tried to catch her in a conversation. She had to remind herself that some of them were _actually_ important and Josephine would be disappointed if Lavellan gave offense, and dodged them with as much politeness as she could muster. As soon as she made it through all the nobles who murmured variations of ‘Inquisitor’, ‘your Worship’ and ‘Herald’ as soon as they saw her, she ran down the stairs and under the arch to the next set of stairs as fast as she could.

There were mostly merchants, soldiers, or those who served the inquisition, in the yard by the barn and gate. They saluted her or greeted her by title as a means of acknowledging her, and thankfully not because they were trying to converse with her, so she was able to walk through them with ease. If they hid knowing smiles because they knew where she was heading, they were polite enough to hide their smiles well.

Thom was in the barn as usual, sitting by the fire and at first glance looking no worse for wear after their fight with the dragon. Only Varric, Dorian, Lavellan and the healers knew that he had several layers of bandages under his quilted coat, and multiple stitches holding together the gashes the dragon’s talons had put in him right through his armour. The image of the trail of bright red blood the four of them had left in the snow, as they made their way back through Emprise du lion, was seared into Lavellan’s mind. She still couldn’t quite believe they had all made it back alive.

“Hello, love,” Thom said, when she walked over to him as he whittled away at yet another wooden toy he was making “How’s the arm?”

“It’s fine.” Lavellan stooped down to kiss his cheek. “How are you?”

“I’d be happy to never see a dragon again, but I’m glad to be alive.” He caught her bandaged arm and kissed her hand. “Glad you’re alive most of all.”

“Likewise.” Lavellan sat down next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder as he continued to work.

No one else went through the barn unless they absolutely had to, giving it the feeling of being a space just for the two of them. It was only a couple minutes before the warmth from the fire and the repetitive scrape of Thom’s knife against the wood had her yawning though, and Thom chuckled when she yawned so hard her jaw cracked.

“Time for you to retire for the evening, my lady?”

“I guess so.” Lavellan picked at a loose thread in her bandages. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Don’t I always?” Thom put down his carving, stood and helped her to her feet.

“Yes, but it is a little different today. We’re on the floor tonight.”

“The floor.” It wasn’t even a question, but the look Thom gave her was one that clearly said he was waiting for the rest of the explanation and that he knew he wasn’t going to like it.

“Because Dorian’s got the bed.” She laughed a little. “And Varric’s sleeping on the floor too actually.”

“And why is that?”

“I just want you all close by.” Lavellan rubbed her own bandaged arm unconsciously. “I was scared, up there by the Pools of the Sun.”

Sighing, Thom gathered her in his arms and held her close, pressing a kiss to her hair. After a long, comfortable moment, he let go and offered her his arm and started walking toward the keep when she took it.

“While I can’t say I relish the thought of spending the night in the same room as Dorian, I’m not about to turn down the chance to spend the night with you,” He said as they walked, “You’re not the only one who wants to keep everyone close after what happened.”

“Thank you.” Lavellan kissed his cheek again, and followed him up the stairs to cut through Skyhold’s kitchen.

Most of the kitchen workers were used to the two of them passing through, and didn’t even bother to spare them more than a glance to make sure they weren’t Sera. It was quiet in the empty cobwebbed hall beyond, and Lavellan squeezed Thom’s arm in concern when she heard how his breathing echoed in the stillness.

“Just the stairs and all these bandages, love.” He reassured her, smiling.

“We can walk slower…”

“The sooner we get to your quarters the sooner we can sleep.”

“True.”

They went up the stairs that brought them to the little space that lead to either the War Council room or the main hall, and Lavellan opened the heavy wooden door that led into the main hall and peered through the crack. Varric was nowhere to be seen and the nobles seemed to be gathered at the far end, likely expecting her to return from that direction through the main doors, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“It looks like we can get through without too much fuss, Thom.”

“I feel like I should have a shield, but I’m ready when you are.”

Holding the door open just enough to squeeze through, they slid into the hall. Lavellan eased the door closed, and neither of them dared to breathe as the walked to the door that led to her quarters. Only the guards standing by the Inquisitor’s seat noticed them and they saluted silently, allowing Thom and Lavellan to get through unnoticed. As soon as the door shut behind her, Lavellan gave a huge sigh of relief and leaned against Thom.

“Well that went well for once,” He said, smiling at her.

“I almost can’t believe it,” She replied, and the two of them laughed.

“Is that you, Lavellan?” Varric’s voice called, and he leaned over the railing a moment later. “Took you long enough.”

“You could have gone to sleep,” She said, and climbed up the last set of stairs onto the main floor of her quarters.

Dorian was already in her bed, propped up with several pillows and looking as fashionably put together as a man with his arm in a sling could. He was wearing a loose, finely woven shirt to sleep in that was even embroidered. Varric on the other hand had simply stripped off his shirt so he was just in his breeches, and Thom and Lavellan followed suit. Thom tossed his coat over the only chair and put his boots under it, and Lavellan discarded her boots and stiff overshirt.

A large pile of blankets and cushions were piled on the floor next to the bed, and another smaller pile next to it looked at least vaguely bed shaped with pillows at one end and the blankets folded back. Varric lowered himself down onto that pile after kicking off his boots, and pointed at the haphazard one.

“That’s for you two to do whatever you please with. You can sleep on it as is for all I care,” He said, yawning.

“Just as long as you do it quickly,” Dorian said, with a pointed look. “Some of us are quite ready for our beauty sleep.”

It only took a minute for Thom and Lavellan to rearrange the blankets into something appropriate and they settled in, Thom wrapping his arms around Lavellan as she curled up against his chest. Dorian muttered something about the lamp and being unable to snap his fingers, but a moment later it extinguished without a sound and the room went dark.

Faint light from the moon on the stained glass prevented the room from being completely dark though, and if Lavellan lifted her head to peek over Thom’s shoulder she could just make out Varric in his pile of cushions. Dorian kept fussing and she could hear the slide of his expensive sheets that he had brought from his room against the bed. Comforted by their presence, she pressed her face against the bandages on Thom’s chest, and relaxed at the sound of his heartbeat.

For a while there was just the continued rustling of blankets from Dorian and occasional sigh as the four of them all tried to settle in. For the first time since they’d gotten back to Skyhold from their fight with the Hinterval, apart from when they were in the infirmary, they were all together. Lavellan’s relief was incomparable.

“Thank you everyone…I’m glad you’re all safe,” She said quietly, almost to herself.

“Of course,” Dorian drawled in answer, startling her, “I can assure you that _reassuring_ you of my safety is the only thing that could entice me to sleep in such a utilitarian bed as yours.”

“If you don’t like it, get out of it,” Thom said grumpily, and Varric sighed.

“Now that we’re all safe can we try for quiet and get some sleep? Try to remember the screams that are going to greet us when the maid finds Dorian in the Inquisitor’s bed, because you know that Nightingale will send the maid in when we’re all missing.”

“Anyone want to bet on the gossip that’ll be going around by lunchtime?” Dorian asked, with a mock-thoughtful hum. “I’m betting it’ll be that the poor Inquisitor had to sleep on the floor to preserve her virtue with only Blackwall to protect her while Varric and I defiled her room with our shared depravity.”

“And let me guess, with Bianca in the middle?” Varric asked with a snort.

“Only if you mean the crossbow, my friend.”

“I’ll take that bet, Sparkler.” 

“And I’ll take that bed if you both don’t shut up.” Thom growled, and Lavellan laughed against his chest.

Every moment of her friends being alive and joking was well worth the screams from the maid in the morning.


End file.
